


In which Dick is a merfolk and rescues Tim the human

by PrincessMariana



Series: PM's Flufftober 2020 [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: AU - batfam rules the ocean as merfolk, Alternate Universe, Big Brother Dick Grayson, Fluff, Flufftober, Flufftober 2020, Gen, Hurt Tim Drake, Mermaids, Protective Dick Grayson, because fluff, except no one dies in this fic, i guess, i was really tired when i wrote this, merfolk, no editing we die like Jason, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:08:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26854984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessMariana/pseuds/PrincessMariana
Summary: The title says it all. Dick, crown prince to all merfolk and the sea, defies his father by saving Tim from drowning, Little Mermaid-style. But with no kissing or weird romance. (Or any romance)  Dick's hobby is collecting new family members, but this time, he has a tail.Written for Flufftober, Day 4: Wounded
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson
Series: PM's Flufftober 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1951447
Comments: 19
Kudos: 174
Collections: Flufftober2020





	In which Dick is a merfolk and rescues Tim the human

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: There's a brief bit where a kid is almost murdered. Don't worry. Mer!Dick to the rescue!
> 
> When the idea first popped in my head, it followed the prompt way better. But then this happened instead. But eh, close enough.

Dick loved sunbathing and watching ships go by. Today he had found the perfect perch that was closer enough to see the action and far enough the way to not _be_ seen. Content with the sun warming his back, he rested his chin on his arms and let his gold-blue tail swish against the water’s surface.

This part of the ocean wasn’t very busy. The nearest harbor was far away, but merchants often came through. Occasionally, Dick would spot a pirate ship or a ship from the nearby human kingdom’s navy. Those were the ships that Dick had to hide from. The merchants, if they saw him, would just gawk and quickly steer away, but the armed ships sometimes hunted merfolk.

“Whatcha doin’, Goldie?” Jason called out as he swam to Dick’s rock.

Dick smiled warmly at his brother. “I have the day off, so I thought I’d relax in the sun for a bit.”

“You’re awfully close to the shore,” Jason said skeptically. He floated in front of Dick, his shoulders bobbing in and out of the water with the tides.

“So I want to spy on a few humans,” Dick said. “They’re interesting.”

“And deadly,” Jason said.

“You sound like Bruce. That military position getting to your head?” Dick teased.

Jason puffed up with pride. “Diana let me help her run drills today.”

“Was that more fun than doing the drills?” Dick asked. His tail curled up in pleasure at his brother’s happiness.

“Yes! But it’s almost harder to direct the soldiers than it was to be one of the soldiers,” Jason said. “But Diana said that I did well!”

“You’ll be a general yet, little tail,” Dick said fondly.

Jason made a face. “Will you stop calling me that if I do?”

“ _Never_.” Dick slapped his tail on the water to gently splash Jason.

Jason splashed him back. “Alfred says I’ll be bigger than you and maybe Bruce one day. I won’t be little then.”

“I don’t care how big you’ll get. You’ll always be my little tail,” Dick said. He shifted over on his perch. “Do you want to join me? The temperature is perfect today.”

A few years ago, Jason would already be up there with him. They would guess destinations of the ships or find pictures in the clouds. Dick’s heart ached with nostalgia as Jason shook his head. “I came here to warn you.”

“Bruce?” Dick guessed wearily.

“He’s pissed,” Jason said. “You’ve been away for too long.”

“It hardly been a few hours!” Dick said, his tail slapping the water in frustration. “I told him I would be gone all day.”

“Dick, I agree with Bruce,” Jason said. “You shouldn’t be out here alone.”

“I can take care of myself!” Dick snapped. Jason flinched at Dick’s tone, and Dick quickly amended, more softly, “I’m sorry, Jay. I shouldn’t take my anger out on you.”

“I know,” Jason said. “And I know that Bruce can be…Bruce.”

Dick laughed. “Oh, how the tides have turned. I remember saying that to you quite often when you were smaller. I-” Dick stopped as he spotted a ship getting nearer.

“What?” Jason said, alert.

“Get down!” Dick hissed, sliding off his rock. “ _Pirates_.”

Jason swore quietly. “We have to tell Bruce.” He grasped Dick’s forearm, ready for them to swim away together.

“You go ahead,” Dick said. “I’ll scout them out.”

“No!” Jason said. “It’s way too dangerous.”

“They might not be here to hunt,” Dick said.

“And if they are?” Jason demanded.

“Then Bruce will definitely need to know that they’re here,” Dick said. “If we both check, Bruce won’t have as much time to prepare.”

“Let me be the scout, then,” Jason said.

“Jay, I know that one day, you’ll be a stronger fighter than me,” Dick said, “but right now, I have more experience than you. It’s safer if I go.”

Jason hesitated before nodding. “Fine. But if you get hurt, Bruce is going to kill both us.”

“Our lives are in my hands. Got it.”

“Be safe,” Jason said seriously, releasing Dick, and then he swam away.

Dick watched his green-white tail disappear into the murky depths before turning towards the pirate ship.

Once he reached the ship, Dick floated closer enough to the surface to watch what was happening. The ship – and this close, he could see that it definitely was a pirate ship – drifted lazily on the water. The tide was slow, and the pirates hadn’t bothered setting down an anchor.

Dick could hear angry shouting from the deck, but besides the canons, he couldn’t see any obvious weapons. This was apparently a human matter, unrelated to the mer. Curious, he moved closer to the surface to watch.

The shouting was between a roughly-dressed man – clearly a pirate – and a young boy. The man was dragging the boy across the deck as the boy struggled. The rest of the crew was gathered around, watching.

The pair came to the edge of the boat, and Dick could see that the boy’s hands were bound. He was kicking and screaming for help. Dick’s heart went out to the child. From looks alone, he was only a few years older than Damian, though humans aged much faster than merfolk. Dick had witnessed terrible things from humans, but he’d never seen a child treated to violently – or many children at all on these ships.

With a final shout, the pirate threw the boy into the water. Dick sank deeper into the water so that the pirate, peering over the boat, wouldn’t spot him. With horror, Dick watched the boy splash around, flailing as he tried to keep afloat. With his wrists bound, he didn’t stand a chance.

Bruce had rules when it came to humans, but they all amounted to – _do not engage._ The punishment for interacting with a human varied in severity, but there always was a punishment. Even Dick, the crown prince, would not be spared.

But there was child falling underneath the waves to his death. How could Dick just watch that happen, human or no?

Dick swam towards the boy and yanked him under the water so that the pirates would lose sight of him. Dick was willing to face Bruce’s wrath, but he wouldn’t endanger his people.

The boy struggled against the arm Dick had wrapped around his waist, but the water was Dick’s domain. This human child could not win. When the boy went limp, Dick swam as fast as he could away from the ship. They needed to find air far enough away, and fortunately, Dick knew of a cove that would provide privacy and much needed air for the child.

Dick was fast, and so they made to the cove in less than two minutes. The boy was deadweight in Dick’s arms. Dick hoped that it wasn’t to late. He pulled the boy onto the sand and began applying pressure to the boy’s chest, as he’d seen humans do after saving a drowning sailor.

“Breathe, child,” Dick urged.

There were many long, terrible seconds, but then the boy lurched up, coughing out water and gasping for air. Dick thanked whatever gods might be listening.

The boy stared at Dick with wide, glassy eyes. “You’re…Am-am I dreaming?”

Dick stroked the child’s hair in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. “You’re safe here,” he promised. “I’ll keep you safe.”

+++

The boy’s name was Tim. He was the child of rich merchant couple. The pirates had taken him for ransom, but his parents had refused to pay – hence, the attempted murder.

“They never really wanted a child,” Tim admitted quietly, to Dick’s horror.

Once over his fear, Tim became fascinated by Dick and asked him many questions about merfolk and the sea.

“I’ve read so much about the ocean in my parent’s library, but I wasn’t allowed in a boat until the pirates came,” Tim said eagerly. “Can you really sing sailors to their deaths?”

Tim’s injuries inflicted by the pirates were serious, but nothing Dick and Tim couldn’t figure out. Tim had learned a lot from books, and Dick had treated merfolks’ wounds. It would take Tim a few weeks to recover. In the meantime, Dick provided Tim with fish and seaweed to eat. They caught rainwater for Tim to drink.

Dick didn’t dare go back home until Tim was fully recovered. Bruce would be able to smell human on Dick’s skin. Best case scenario, Dick would be locked away, and Tim would likely starve to death. Worst case, Bruce would find Tim and kill the child himself. Dick didn’t think his father would go to such lengths, but Dick couldn’t risk it.

So instead, he swam around, masking his trail, and then found a shark. “Go to the king,” Dick instructed the powerful creature. “Tell him that his eldest son is safe but will not return for a few weeks.”

Dick didn’t have plan for when Tim recovered. Tim would need to leave the cove, find humans that were safe, but Dick wasn’t sure how. The cove was isolated, and it would be too dangerous for a merfolk to swim a small human to the harbor. If Tim survived the journey, Dick would likely be attacked by the humans. Even if he wasn’t, Tim’s own parents had abandoned him. How could Dick trust Tim’s safety with strangers?

“You bleed so much,” Dick said, as he re-wrapped seaweed around Tim’s arm. “Is that normal?”

“Yes,” Tim said. “Small cuts will clot over pretty quick, but gashes like this take longer to heal over, so they bleed more. Your skin looks thicker than mine.”

“We rarely bleed this much,” Dick said. He didn’t add how frightening it was to see. That much blood usually meant a dead merfolk.

Dick enjoyed Tim’s company. They exchanged human and mer stories and discussed the sea. Dick answered all of Tim’s questions. He loved talking about his home. Sometimes, late at night, Dick would sing to Tim. Just like the young ones who lived near Dick’s home, Tim fell asleep quickly when Dick sang.

+++

It couldn’t last. Dick knew that. His heart ached for his home, but he had grown attached to this human child. It was almost a relief when Bruce found them.

Dick was returning from a hunt, two fish in hand, when he caught Bruce’s scent in the water. Panicked, Dick dropped the dead fish and swam swiftly to the cove. If Bruce arrived first…Dick shuddered to think.

“Tim!” he cried out desperately as he entered the cove.

Tim was sitting, cross-legged, on the sand. Bruce sat next to him with half his tail in the water, much like Dick would sit with Tim. To Dick’s relief, Tim did not look frightened. At the sound of Dick’s voice, his face broke into a wide smile, and he waved.

Bruce, however, glared at Dick furiously.

Dick swam over and pulled himself onto the sand on the opposite side of Tim, eying his father warily. “Tim, are you okay?”

Tim seemed to notice Dick’s anxiety. “Yes,” he said in a reassuring tone. “I’m fine. I was just talking with Bruce. Should I not…?”

“That depends on Bruce,” Dick said.

“I told him how I got here and how you rescued me,” Tim said, looking nervously between them. “Was that – was that alright?”

“Yes,” Dick said. “Bruce is my father, so he’s angry that I’ve been away from home so long.” He didn’t want to scare Tim by voicing his fears on Tim’s fate.

“Furious would be the more accurate term,” Bruce said in a low growl.

“I’m an adult,” Dick snapped. “I even sent you a message!”

“You are the crown prince to the sea,” Bruce snarled back. “You are not allowed to just _vanish_ when you feel like it!”

“This wasn’t some whim! Tim needed my help.” Dick was reminded that Tim still needed his help and protection. He forced himself to calm down, evening his tone. “I’ll accept whatever you want to do with me, but please keep Tim out of it.”

I won’t hurt your human friend,” Bruce said, “but you’re grounded until I either find a more suitable punishment or I forget my anger, though that might take centuries.”

That…was better than expected. “Thank you,” Dick said.

Bruce turned to Tim. “Now, what shall we do with you, child?”

“I…could return to my parents?” Tim suggested uncertainly.

“Just to get kidnapped by pirates again? Or worse?” Dick said, horrified by the thought.

“He knows too much. He can’t return to other humans,” Bruce said.

“You promised you wouldn’t hurt him!” Dick said.

“And I will not,” Bruce said. “I am suggesting that he stays with us.”

“In the cove? That’s no life for anyone,” Dick said.

“No. _As_ one of us.”

Dick’s eyes went wide. “You’d do that?”

Bruce nodded and looked at Tim. “If you wish, I have the power to take away your humanity and make you part of the merfolk.”

“Woah, really?” Tim said. Excitement creeped into his voice. “Yes! That would be amazing. I mean-” He glanced at Dick nervously.

Dick smiled in response. “I wouldn’t mind another little brother.”

“Very well,” Bruce said and guided Tim into the water. Bruce waved a hand and his trident appeared. The water began to glow around Tim, and Bruce pushed Tim down into it, holding there for a long moment.

When the glowing stopped, Dick swam over. Tim was floating, clearly exhausted. “I – I have a tail!” Tim said, excited despite the fatigue.

“It’s beautiful,” Dick said, admiring the shiny red and black scales. “Welcome to the family, baby fish.”

**Author's Note:**

> Uh...not sure what I just wrote. I have work in, um, four hours, and no sleep to show for it. But here is a thing that I wrote. I'll probably regret this in the morning. I hope you enjoyed it! :)  
> Let me know if I should write more in this au or if it's doomed to die with my sleep-deprived brain.


End file.
